Analog Man Compressor pedals and mods

Analog Man Guitar Effects Pedals

New 2013 REV4 CompROSSor now available in Comprossor, Bicomp, and Mini Bicomp! Also new "Ryck" mod toggle option!

Quick links : Comprossor - Juicer - Mini Bicomp - Bicomprossor - DynaRoss - Players and reviews - history - Bass players - Sound Samples

We make the Comprossor, Juicer, and Bicomprossor guitar effect pedal compressors. All of these best-selling pedals are hand-made in the USA on USA made circuit boards. I have four pedals that I will talk about below:

1. CompROSSor™: A hand made pedal based on the Ross compressor. (Two box types are available).
2. Juicer: A hand made Dan Armstrong™ Orange Squeezer compressor clone (orange box).
3. Bi-Comprossor™: The 2 effects above in one box! Also available in the smaller box as the Mini Bicomp.
4. Dyna/Ross: A reissue MXR™ dynacomp, modified to 100% ross specs. Not the singer from The Supremes.

Ross and Dan Armstrong (RIP) are registered trademarks with no affiliation with analog man, used here only for comparative purposes.

Availability

All pedals are now available with no waiting list! We finally finished off the BICOMP waiting list in May of 2012, as we have perfected the construction of this complicated pedal and I am very proud with how they are coming out now.

HISTORY

The 30+ year-old original Ross Compressors are about impossible to find and VERY expensive. This led us to first come up with a clone which we made by modifying a Dunlop built MXR Dynacomp reissue, starting in 1999. The pedal in the picture on the left is the Dyna/Ross- a modified reissue dynacomp. It is painted with grey hammerite paint and has the aNaLoG.MaN smiling sun stamped on in red. The bottom plates are not painted as they have huge rubber pads on them, the original red is still around the border.

In the year 2000, there were no Ross Clones being made. So with the help of Alfonso Hermida (Zen Drive), we reverse-engineered an old Ross, and have been making our own version, the Analog Man compROSSor pedal, from scratch ever since. Our comprossors soon became extremely popular and had a long waiting list. So others came out with Klones of the Ross compressor, which is easy now as all the info to build one can now be found online. But just building from a recipe will not give the same results as a cook who knows how and why to include or discard certain ingredients, and add the perfect seasonings. So we are staying a few steps ahead of the others, you will see the differences in quality and features below. We came out with the ATTACK control in 2001, which one of our COMPetitors finally added in 2005 after years of saying it was not needed. But seems he only added half of an attack control- it only goes one way from the stock setting. Ours is able to ADD or SUBTRACT from the stock setting, which we put in the middle of the range.

Way Huge had made the Saffron Squeeze pedal in the mid 1990s, which is a hot-rodded Ross compressor. These are very popular and tend to sell for even more than an original Ross compressor. Different transistors and a few different capacitors were used, and some capacitors are added. We were able to offer our comprossor with these specs by special request if you are familiar with the Saffron Squeeze. But the newfangled transistors used in the Saffron Squeeze are not as steady and smooth, so we prefer not doing 100% SS specs.

We have slowly been improving our Comprossor every year, and are using some of the Saffron Squeeze improvements in all of our comprossors now. This makes them a little more open and less squashed than the other comps on the market. We have also tuned the low and high end of the pedal, so as to keep your signal from being changed.

Rev4 circuit

In April, 2013 we really improved the COMPROSSOR circuit. Mike had been playing in a band for a few years, and noticed that SOME pedals on his board would not drive a load well, they would get dark and dull, due to a bad (high) output impedance. This is easily tested by running pedals into something like a low impedance volume pedal, with a switchable buffer between them. The ARDX20 with the delay level down is excellent for testing - when ON it's a great buffer, when OFF it's true bypassed. To test a pedal, simply turn the buffer on and off and listen for a change in tone. With most pedals, like our Chorus, Juicer, etc, there is no difference - they can drive the signal to your amp through long cables or volume pedals no problem. But the Comprossor sounded dull when the buffer was removed. The original Ross, Dynacomp, and all the other Ross clones do the same exact thing- they really need a buffer after them to sound good.

Also these pedals don't have a very loud output, especially when you hit them hard, for example with humbuckers or a boosted signal. One other problem all these pedals have is phase reversal - they flip the phase of your signal when you turn them ON. This may not be a problem for most people, but if you split your signal and combine it, or run into two amps, the out of phase signals will cancel and you will get a VERY thin sound. Also, for use as a clean boost, there was too much compression even with the SUSTAIN pot all the way down. So we reduced the minimum compression amount, without changing the maximum amount. Now the pedal is more usable as a clean boost, and also sounds great left on all the time as a tone sweetener/buffer. It's great stacked into dirt pedals, chorus, vibes, etc now. With these problems fixed, there is no need for a blend knob, you should be able to keep your pure tone without the need for additional circuitry. One other thing we improved was the LED circuitry. Now, if one side of the bicomp/mini bicomp is ON, and you turn the other side ON, the first LED does not get dimmer. A small change but something that bothered us. The REV4 boards are usually blue as seen in this picture of the BICOMP.

All of these problems are fixed in the REV4 circuit -

1. Excellent output impedance for a clearer tone with no signal loss or need for a buffer
2. More available output for boosting your amp
3. No phase reversal
4. Less compression available

Ryck toggle option

Since 2000 we are building totally handmade compROSSors from scratch, with true bypass and LED. They are priced starting at $190, which is less than the modified Dynacomp with true bypass used to be, as it is much easier to build these by hand with true bypass than modify a new dynacomp for true bypass. We decided to make the COMPROSSOR, for a higher quality, more easily serviced pedal, and with all the best possible components. All our handmade pedals are more easily repaired than factory mass-produced pedals in case an amp falls on it or something. All the parts we use are readily available (pots, jacks, switches, power jacks, electronic parts, etc), unlike the proprietary parts in most factory built pedals which can take a month or two to order from the manufacturer, if they are even available. Forget trying to get parts for cheap chinese pedals like Danelectro, etc, they are disposable if something breaks.

In 2004, the compressor chips used in the Dynacomp and Ross clones (CA3080E) became unavailable- they are no longer made. But we bought thousands of these chips just in time, so we will be able to sell these compressors for at least a few more years. These chips were first labelled as RCA, then Harris when the company changed their name, finally Intersil when they changed yet again. I used to go to RCA/Harris in Mountaintop, PA when I was working on their semiconductor test systems in the '80s and '90s.

Will these compressors add noise?

Any pedal that increases gain will increase the existing noise of your equipment, but our compressors themselves do not add significant noise. The Juicer is a little noisier than the comprossor though, there is a bit of white noise if you stop playing.

However, a compressor is the opposite of a noise gate - when you stop playing or play quietly, a noise gate kills the sound (and the normal noise). A compressor goes to full gain when you stop playing or play quietly, amplifying the normal noise a lot. So you may get more noise if you use a compressor, especially if you turn the SUSTAIN or volume up high.

The JUICER is susceptible to HUM from cheap adaptors, So I recommend using a high quality power supply or battery for the Juicer, though most customers have reported no problems using various power supplies.
*** CAUTION : using a daisy chained (shared) power supply on the juicer can be very noisy. Best to use it's own supply or run one output from an ISOLATED power supply (Voodoo Lab, T Rex, etc) into the Juicer or Bicomp for less noise.

Are these compressors like studio compressors?

No, anyone who says a Ross, Dynacomp, or Orange Squeezer compressor works or sounds like a studio compressor is trying to pull one over on you. These compressor pedals are EFFECTS and are best used for strong compression as an effect, though they are still good for subtle use, by turning the SUSTAIN knob down. If you want a compressor pedal that is transparent and has controls like a studio compressor, check out the Joe Meek FloorQ which we now carry for people who want studio sounds and control when playing live.

BI-COMPROSSOR AUG-01

On the left is the protoype Analog Man Bi-comprossor.

The knob on the rightmost is the Juicer volume, the middle is the compRossor volume, and the left is the compROSSor sustain. There is an LED for each side, and a switch. The two effects are independant - either or both can be used. The Juicer is first in the signal chain if you turn them both on at the same time. Click here for an artistic picture of one of our early hand-painted, hand stamped bicompROSSors, taken by a customer who is an excellent photographer.

In Aug-2001, I redesigned my COMPROSSOR circuit board and added a 100% original Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer onto the same board, creating the BI-COMPROSSOR! You can see the new board on the left, assembled in BI-COMPROSSOR configuration. Due to many customer requests, I also added an ATTACK TIME control on the Ross, which the original Ross compressor did not have. There is more information on this feature below.

We test all transistors we use for noise, in a prototype pedal with a transistor socket. We sort the transistors into two groups, as Ross did on theirs, and use the SELECT transistors in the select locations. Then we use a matched pair in another part of the circuit where that will benefit.

You can see the new ROSS ATTACK trim pot on the right. Note all the light green on the board- this is the GROUND PLANE on the circuit board, expanded to fill all unused areas. This acts as shielding to minimize noise, like shielded cables. Both sides of our double-sided, plated through hole board (as used by the military for durability) have this shielding on them. Check out the competition's circuit boards and you will not find this shielding, which is why ours has less noise. After Analogmike designed the circuit, the board was laid out by the designer who did the complicated layout for the Voyetra Turtle Beach motherboard. The circuit board design software costs a fortune and takes months to learn to use, so we were glad to have help with it.

ATTACK control:
All the comprossor pedals we made until this new board came out in AUG-01 have been 100% Ross spec. Several people who purchased my DYNA ROSS and COMPROSSORS had asked for our compressor to compress more quickly, without as much ATTACK on the note, for a smoother, more legato sound. And some people prefer a louder, more percussive attack (just the opposite). The standard fixed Ross attack time setting is just a setting chosen by the MXR engineer in the 1970s who designed the original Dynacomp, which the Ross people then used as the basis for the ROSS compressor. It is not necessarily the best setting for everyone.

To improve this pedal, in 2001 we added the ATTACK control on the ROSS board, or a knob so you can choose this setting yourself.

Our attack time knob or trim pot comes factory set at the half way point (as seen above, pointing LEFT) for the exact stock Ross/Dynacomp setting. By turning it one way (down or ccw), you can squash the attack more (faster attack time) so there is not as much peak sound at the beginning of the notes you are playing. Or, by turning it the OTHER way (up or cw), you will get more attack than the stock ROSS pedal, for a nice strong percussive sound, without losing the sustain when you hold a note. This attack control came out even better than I hoped- it really makes a difference, especially at higher SUSTAIN settings. It is easiest to have someone else adjust it to your taste while you are playing, then you can hear the differences easily. The ATTACK pot REALLY helps with guitars with high output, like a Les Paul or other guitar with humbuckers. You will notice with a Dynacomp, Ross compressor, or other Ross clone, that you can't get much volume with your Les Paul. Even with the comp's VOLUME knob turned up all the way, you can't get the pedal to be louder when it is ON than when it was OFF. That is because the humbucker's output is so powerful that the compressor thinks it is "all attack" and squashes it back down, not only the initial attack but even longer. By turning up the ATTACK pot, you can get more volume and a strong sound with humbuckers.

For Bass and Stick players too!!!

These pedals work great on bass, but people have been slow to pick up on this. The Comprossor adds a ton of sustain and a cool tone, while the Juicer has a jazzy legato tone, like the fretless bass heard on Paul Simon's Graceland. It can help simulate a fretless sound. Both of these have good low end so you won't sound thin. Tony Levin, my favorite bass player (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Jim Weider band...) got a Bicomp in early 2004 and is having fun using it with his bass, Stick and Funk Fingers. He used it on some tracks on Jim Weider's 2004 CD and told me he used it on the Peter Gabriel tour and with King Crimson with his Stick. He also used it in 2004 with the California Guitar Trio, as his only effect and now brings it to all of his many recordings and gigs. Here is a shot of Tony in 1980 with Peter Gabriel, showing his old Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer stuck in his bass! No wonder he likes his Bicomp, and seems to use the Juicer side more.

Tom Griesgraber , one of the most accomplished STICK players, wrote me:

Well, I've had the Bicomp you sent here for a few months now, and I'm happy to report it's become a regular part of my live rig for the Stick. I've been using it on the bass side of the instrument (before any preamps, rack fxs, etc) and have found it to be a really cool thing to kick in for certain types of Stick bass parts. The bass side of the Stick is such a weird beast.. sometimes I use it more for chords (even in a high guitar range), or sometimes just for bass lines, or sometimes a mix of the two. I'm finding though that anytime a part is more bass oriented I'm always enjoying having the Ross side on. And when I don't want it.. the bypass mode seems totally transparent. I've never noticed that the pedal is even there when bypassed! You'll be happy to know it was visible at the Sennheiser and Stick booths every day of NAMM, and has since been on tours of the west coast and Italy/France with Jerry Marotta and I.

Trey Gunn got a Mini Bicomp in 2012 for playing with The Security Project, playing early Peter Gabriel music with members of Peter's band. I saw their first gig at BB King's in NYC and Trey was amazing!!!

Will Lee from the David Letterman band and The Fab Faux (ultimate Beatles band) had his BICOMP on stage along with his TS9DX when I saw the Fabs here in Danbury in early 2006. If you like the later Beatles music you HAVE to see these guys. With Jimmy Vivino and one or two more excellent guitarists (depending on the song, they all play multiple instruments), with all five on vocals, they are a MUST SEE.

Joshua Gravelin from Austin, currently playing bass in Ian Moore's band and in Cotton Mather, tried a Bicomp in a music store in Austin and grabbed it!! He said he's getting a lot of use out of that pedal.

Using higher voltage

These pedals are designed to work fine on 9V DC so they can use a battery. But if you are running a VERY strong signal into the compressor, like active pickups, you may want to use higher voltage for more headroom, to avoid the compressor distorting. We sell an optional 12V adaptor, or you can use the 12V option on the Voodoo Labs pedalpower2 for that. Up to 15V or so is safe. This helps a lot with basses like a G&L or a guitar with EMG pickups.

Comprossor Specs

Here are some specs from the original Ross. Ours should be the same except when setting the ATTACK control you will change some (attack time, etc).

We are now offering 3 basic versions of our handmade compressors:

1) Standard COMPROSSOR

1. Modified Ross specs with hand tested, selected transistors and NOS CA3080E chip.
2. Standard external attack knob on large comprossor 4/05
3. Optional external attack knob on small comprossor 5/03
4. Attack knob has a detent at 12:00 which is the standard Ross/ Dynacomp attack setting.
5. True Bypass with 3PDT switch
6. LED with metal bezel
7. Power jack standard, no extra charge. You can plug a Boss style 2.1mm x 5.5mm barrel 9V DC adaptor into this jack.
8. UK made RE'AN jacks for best noise isolation and operation. They are more expensive than the metal Mexican Switchcraft jacks that others use, but the benefits outweigh the cost.
9. Expensive high quality Matsushita/Panasonic capacitors.
10. Easily repaired if damaged- no custom parts like a mass-produced pedal.
11. Built in a grey hammer-finish powdercoated box (4" x 5" x 2.25") as seen at the right, with silkscreened graphics, or optionally in the smaller box (2.5" x 4.75" x 1.5" not including jacks, switch, etc) as seen below with hand stamped graphics.
12. Price $215 in the large 3 knob box, or small box with 3 knobs. $190 in the smaller box with 2 knobs.

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including credit cards.

1B) Small COMPROSSOR

Same as the large comprossor, in a smaller box with hand stamped graphics. Attack knob is optional. If this pedal is ordered with two knobs, the ATTACK control is internal on a trim pot. This pedal is great for people with a lot of pedals, where real estate is valuable! If you use batteries, the large Comprossor is probably better as the small comp wires can get stressed if you open the pedal a lot. All Comprossors come with a power jack standard (optional on the Juicer).

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including credit cards.

2) JUICER

What is a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer? Click here for MORE INFO.

1. 100% original (not WD reissue) Dan Armstrong O.S. circuit and sound.
2. Built into the smaller box as shown on the right.
3. True Bypass with 3PDT switch
4. LED
5. NOS 2N5457 transistors, germanium diodes, and JRC4558D op-amp chip
6. Expensive high quality Matsushita/Panasonic capacitors
7. Power jack $15 option (will still work with a battery).
8. Do not share power or you may have excessive noise from the power supply.
9. UK made RE'AN jacks for best noise isolation and operation.
10. Durable Orange Powder-Coated finish with Orange peel texture!
11. Small box 2.5" x 4.75" x 1.5" not including jacks, switch, etc
12. One knob, external volume knob (original orange squeezer had a volume trim pot inside)
13. About 8 dB of gain available at factory BIAS setting.
14. The Bias trim pot is inside, as it does not need adjustment once it is set right.
15. Price is $165 , as it is a simpler circuit than the Ross.

Here is an awesome Juicer review which appeared in the European Guitar Buyer magazine, on TheGigRig.com. Here is the ARTICLE

Here are the reviews on harmony central, with some good info about the orange squeezer too. Also see the bottom of this page for some customer reviews of the Juicer.

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including credit cards.

3) Bi-CompROSSor COMBO unit:

1. Both of the above effects, built into the same pedal.
2. Custom made aluminum box for durability. 3.75" (9.5 cm) wide x 4.6" (11.7 cm) length x 2" (5 cm) tall
3. Professionally finished in antique silver hammertone powdercoat finish and white silkscreening.
4. The two compressors are not usually used at the same time, but you can if you want extra amounts of compression, squashing, and volume! I use them both to get feedback in certain passages.
5. True Bypass on both sides
6. Two 3PDT stomp switches
7. Two LEDs- left is red for compROSSor and right is Yellow.
8. Power jack standard, no extra charge. You can plug a Boss style 2.1mm x 5.5mm barrel 9vDC adaptor into this jack.
9. UK made RE'AN jacks for best noise isolation and operation. They are more expensive than the metal Mexican Switchcraft jacks, but the benefits outweigh the cost.
10. New for 2003! Ross has the attack time knob standard, no more need to open the pedal to change attack setting!
11. Juicer has the bias trim pot inside on circuit board
12. Ross SUSTAIN knob on outside.New for 2003 now has same taper as original Ross pedal!
13. Two volume knobs (one for each compressor) on the outside.
14. Low power draw even with both LEDs on - about 10mA.
15. Price $275

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including USA credit cards.

New in 2003 MINI BICOMP. Available now.

Mini Bicomp is exactly the same features as our pre-2003 BICOMP - it's the same as the current BICOMP except for the internal ATTACK control on the mini (one less knob). It uses less real estate on your pedalboard. Same size as juicer or small comp (2.5" x 4.75" x 1.5" not including jacks, switch, etc). This pedal works on battery or 9V DC adaptor. If you are going to use batteries, we recommend the large BICOMP as the mini bicomp wires can get stressed if you open and close the pedal often. We make these cases in-house for a cost savings. They are not all perfectly machine-drilled and silk screen labeled like the BICOMP, but have a hand-made appearance. The switches are a little closer together, makes it easy to switch from one compressor to the other by pressing both switches at the same time. Use the side of your foot to easily switch just one side. Price is $255.

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including credit cards.

Sound Samples

Some samples were by Roger Filgate, from Wishbone Ash and currently in an excellent classic/progressive rock band here in CT.

Comprossor (or bicomp ROSS side)

nowhere.mp3 Beatle's Nowhere Man on a strat (Roger Filgate).

nowhere.mp3 Beatle's Nowhere Man on a Rickenbacker 360 12 string guitar (Analog Tom).

byrdtyrds.mp3 The Byrds Mr. Tambourine man also on the Rickenbacker 360/12 (Tom)

floyd.mp3 Some Floyd with my Clone Chorus, on a Tele (Tom). The 1st phrase is with the comprossor off, then the comprossor is turned on and you can hear how it fills out the sound, warming it up and making it fuller, more of a professional recording sound (all studios use compression). Note the strong, noise free sustain at the end.

chikn.mp3 Some Chicken Pickin' on a strat (Roger Filgate).

atk1.mp3 Attack Setting Example. 1st phrase is with the attack set up all the way, 2nd time down all the way. Our standard setting (same as stock Ross) is halfway between these. This is with a Les Paul Standard, showing how turning up the ATTACK knob helps with humbuckers, if you are looking for a stronger sound. This also shows how turning the ATTACK down gives a smoother, more legato sound. (Roger Filgate).

comprhodes.mp3 Our Fender Rhodes through the comprossor (Scott Daly - Arms and Legs)

I usually say that our Comprossor is an EFFECT, but it can get pretty transparent with the sustain knob down all the way. Here is a video that Robert Morency from Unkle Groove sent.

Here are some clips from Doug Doppler which will be on his GET KILLER TONE dvd series. First is an Ibanez S470 into our COMPROSSOR with attack 3:00, sustain 5:00, with a Fuchs Reverbrator for a little reverb, into a Cornford MK-II amp set clean into a Marshall cabinet. CornFedBlues
Here is another one, same setup, with the Comprossor and our Chorus pedal used only on the rhythm channel, CornFusious
Here is another from Doug of the COMPROSSOR, with the sustain down a bit to about 2:00, this time with a Tele (bridge pickup) into a '59 Bassman reissue. TelePhonic.
Now a Strat into the Bassman, with BOTH sides of the BICOMP on (Juicer into Comprossor). AnalogMan Bi-Comprossor 80s Intro.mp3 The reverse sound at the end is not using the bicomp, just a cool edit.

Juicer (or bicomp OS side)

Here is a comparison of a Skynyrd lick on the Strat by Roger Filgate:
Juicer vs Comprossor.

Here are two more comparison clips of the Juicer and Comprossor. Bill Hullett, one of the great Tele players in Nashville, recorded this through a tweed deluxe.
Juicer vs Comprossor. Thanks, Bill!!!

billyjuice.mp3 Here are Some funky JUICER sounds on a strat (Roger Filgate).

Here are some samples from Guestroom Project .
This one is Time Part 1 a clean guitar with juicer. There are more samples of songs with our Juicer and TS9/808 mods on their website, like Traffic (uses our brown mods and juicer on twin leads), Fix uses these also, and Time Part II at about 3:50 has a good lead sound with these 2 pedals.

Here is a clip by Rogers Stevens of Blind Melon from their 2007 album. He is playing his Nash Strat with Rio Grande pickups through our Mini Bicomp into a Blockhead amp. He did one take with each side of the pedal for a cool sound of both of our comps together! He said it was convenient and took only about five minutes!
Bicomp Double Solo
Thanks Rogers!

Here is a youtube video of Brad Rice from Keith Urban's band playing with Tift Merritt live from Austin, TX. He's playing our JUICER pedal for some tasty slide work and a nice solo towards the end, if you are not too distracted by Tift to notice.

Here is another clip from Doug Doppler which will be on his GET KILLER TONE dvd series.
The Tele and '59 Bassman reissue with the JUICER : 70's. Doug says, Again, we're on the bridge position of the tele, but the amp and the compressor make this a really useful sound in the studio. Think John Lennon and Mott the Hoople.

Comprossor vs Juicer, and Mark Knopfler tone

This is an excellent video about getting the Sultans of Swing tone and he shows both sides of the mini bicomp with some excellent playing and explanation.

There are also samples below of the DYNAROSS before and after the mod.

Artists

Trey Anastasio from Phish got a pair of Bicomps before his solo tour and the recording of their album in late 2002. He has been and is still using two of our Silver mod TS9/808 pedals in his live rigs with all the bands and combinations he plays with.

Bill Hullett Nashville guitar ace, got a mini bicomp in 2007. He wrote me :
        I got your mini bicomp pedal late last week and had a days worth of sessions last Friday and a live gig on Saturday so I was really anxious to give it a try....I can honestly say that about 3 minutes worth of playing it made me forget my old compressor pedal. Your compressor "feels" like I'm playing with my coveted Tube Tech compressor in my studio....Its is so smooth feeling its almost stupid!!!!

Doyle Bramhall II was using our BICOMPROSSOR on tour with Eric Clapton in 2004. He also has our Sunface NKT with sundial on his pedalboard. Here is a shot of his HUGE PEDALBOARD with the Sunface in the middle and Bicomp a few pedals to it's left.

Jerry McPherson, one of the top studio guitarists in the country, got a Bicomp in the summer of 2003, unfortunately just after he was featured in Recording Magazine's What's in your Guitar Rack? article. Check out the article for some insight into one of the best setups I have seen.

Jerry wrote me this note :

On first listening it is impressive! I'm not sure how you got it so close to the original Orange Squeezer, but it nails my Squeezers!

In addition to playing guitar thru it I've run some white noise thru a Reamp box (for correct impedance and level matching) and routed it to the Bi-Compressor and compared the results to a late 70's DynaComp, a Keeley, and an old Orange Squeezer. Here's what I've found so far:

The Ross side of the Bi-Compressor (thankfully) has a slightly more of an "open" top end than the DynaComp or Keeley. The main reason I've been searching for alternatives to my old block logo and script logo DynaComps was to find a compressor that wasn't quite as dark and clamped down in the high end. This takes care of that. The attack knob does just what you say it does. How great to have that on a pedal compressor- usually you'll only find "attack" control on rack limiters and compressors!

The OS side of the Bi-Comp sounds just like the Orange Squeezer- Lots of nice, open high end! I can't believe that I can get two distinct compressor circuits in the same box! Man, is this ever going to save real estate on my pedalboard! And have you ever tried to mount an original Orange Squeezer on a pedalboard?!?!! And get power to it without drilling it?!!?

Great pedal- now my favorite compressor!

In 2012 I heard back from Jerry :

Sonny Landreth www.sonnylandreth.com often uses one of our modified DynaRoss pedals. He got one of our BICOMPS for his main pedalboard and a seperate COMPROSSOR for his small board for small gigs. He liked the JUICER on the bicomp so much that he also bought a seperate JUICER pedal for his other board. I finally met Sonny on tour in early 2005 and he was awesome!

Lance Keltner from Austin, TX got a bicomp to try along with his SUN FACE. He wrote me, I tried the bicomprossor pedal and liked it so much that I was laughing. You have nailed the orange squeezer, and the Ross is much nicer than a DynaComp.

The late Stephen Bruton got a BICOMP while on tour along with Little Feat in the summer of 2002, and he dug it for a long time. His playing and music are really missed.

If you are a PHISH fan, be sure to catch PHIX on their Nationwide tours. You'll hear our BICOMPROSSOR in action on Paul Murin's pedalboard! Also Rikers Mailbox, another Phish cover band, is using two of our comprossors and modified Tube Screamers.

Jon Guttwillig from The Disco Biscuits also got a BICOMP recently, after hearing about them from his friend Al Schnier of moe. they have an awesome live show! Al and Trey played together at the Jammies in October 2002, both with BICOMPS and our TS9/808 pedals! Chuck from moe. (an awesome player!) also uses a BICOMP and our TS9/808.

Scott Coney, guitarist for country legend George Jones, is using our bicomp, clone chorus, and King Of Tone. Just ordered spare Bicomp and KoT pedals!

Jeff Pevar (CPR, Jazz Is Dead, Phil Lesh and friends, Graham Nash, etc etc) who lived here in CT, got a BICOMP in late 2002, and is bringing it around the world on tour now. Buddy Miller (Buddy and Julie, Plant and Krauss, Emmylou Harris, etc) got one in early 2003 and I updated it in 2009 for him. Brad Whitford took his on the road with Aerosmith starting in 2003. Charlie Sexton is enjoying one of our Juicer pedals.

In 2003, Jeff Stinco of Simple Plan got our Bicomprossor (and DMM mod and BiChorus) and in 2010 he was still using the Bicomp in the studio.

Chris Justice used it all over the Fox Sports The Best Damn Sports Show Period theme song, (heard starting 3/15/04) and says "It's the Best Damn Pedal I've Ever Owned".
Shayne Hill, lead guitarist from Saywer Brown loves his Mini Bicomp and modified TS9, BD2, and SD1. Steve Kimock got a Bicomp in late 2004 and is having fun with it, running both sides at the same time for some serious C O M P R E S S I O N! He is one of my favorite players, and it's worth it to see him play just to hear his awesome drummer, Rodney Holmes! Gabriel Moses (awesome player, with Macy Gray) is enjoying his mini bicomp, thanks for referring your friends to us too! Dave Malone of the Radiators got a bicomp in 2005 and emailed me on Monday after his 1st gig with it: A note I played Fri nite is still ringin!!

Michael Thompson is enjoying the JUICER side of his mini bicomp. There is a video of him on Xotic Effects web site. Michael says he likes it best for when you want an EFFECTED compressor sound, and he tried other Orange Squeezer clones before this one but they just did not work out. Michael also hipped Ricky Zahariades to the mini bicomp and Ricky is using it in Steve Lukather's band with his Sunface and Bichorus.

Rontrose Heathman from the Supersuckers got a small 2 knob comprossor in early 2007 to replace his first one that got stolen while he was on tour.

Jon Carin, who plays with Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, The Who etc, got a Bicomp for his Keyboards, Guitars, and all sorts of things he makes music with. He wrote me
Thank you AnalogMike. I have never been so properly squeezed.

Mark Goldenberg, who plays lead guitar for Jackson Browne, got a Comprossor in 2009 and popped it right in his live rig. He has had our SunFace for quite a long time and our modified TS9 until Jackson snatched it.

Richard Fortus from Guns N' Roses is using a BICOMPROSSOR in his rack after using it a lot to record their album.

Another great Nashville guitarist, Chris Leuzinger, got our Comprossor in 2010 and wrote:
I absolutely love my Analogman Comprossor! It has just the right amount of grab and is really easy to control with the attack knob. Great for switching between single and double coil pickups. And while most compressors make you lose low end when you turn em on, this on does not alter your tone, which is great!

There is an excellent video of Keith Urban's gear on guitar.com. Guitar tech Chris Miller really knows how to set up a touring rig and explains Keith's awesome setup really well. Our Juicer is in the rig along with a few other compressors, you can't have too many comps!

John Mayer's touring rig was featured in a Premier Guitar Magazine video in Sept 2010, and it showed his Analog Man Small 3-knob Comprossor. I think he picked it up at Truetone music in Santa Barbara, CA.

Customer Reviews and info

Click Here for some customer reviews, the first is from a professional player in Las Vegas, with more info on the history of compressors and how they are used. near the end is some great general information on how compressors work and what they can do for you, check it out if you are wondering if a compressor can help you.

DYNA/ROSS MODS

Modifying Your Reissue Dynacomp

2008 : Sorry we are not doing this mod anymore

We don't have the time as it's a very labor-intensive mod and the results are just not as good as our COMPROSSOR pedal (bypass, attack time, construction quality like jacks, switches, and pots). So we recommend getting one of our COMPROSSOR pedals instead of modifying a Dynacomp.

In early 2008 we found that Dunlop is making a new version of the dynacomp, I guess they ran out of the CA3080E chips. They are using an LM13700N chip which appears to be an updated dual version of the 3080. They seem to be using just one side of the chip. It has a red circuit board and 06/01/2007 printed on it near the part numbers. We never came up with a mod for this version of the Dynacomp.

The Dynacomps that we could modify are the Dunlop made reissues, which can be distinguished as they have the jacks and switch mounted to the circuit board. The older ones were original MXR style, with the circuit board wrapped in foam and not attached to the switch. I can not modify these as there is no room for all of the parts that we add. On these original MXRs, we can do true bypass mods, add LED and/or Boss style power jack, and do a SCRIPT LOGO mod with matched tested NOS Ross/script logo transistors. The script logo used the 2SC1949R transistors which are almost all gone so it's a $50 option along with a true bypass mod etc. We cannot do true bypass mods on the reissue MXR pedals due to the construction.

We have done many dozens of these mods on reissue dynacomps. I found the differences from the MXR dynacomp and the old Ross compressor which everyone is looking for. Basically the Ross is a bunch of improvements to make it function better and more smoothly, plus much better transistors. While they last, I will use hand tested, hand selected transistors in your mod. We do not just install transistors and call it a ross mod, it is much more involved including replacing several single components with subassemblies of multiple components.

We have to do a lot of mods to a dynacomp and the board is a pain to work on (double sided) so the mod costs more than most of our mods. But I am very happy with the sound, the difference is readily apparent. The dynacomp has a "seasick" pumping sound, the volume swell is not smooth and warbles. After the mod, the output is rock solid and very smooth, no more fluttering.

Here are some sound samples, both recorded with a Strat into a '66 Deluxe Reverb with a mic. Volume on the pedal is about 12:00, sustain (sensitivity) is up full:

dynacomp.mp3 Stock Dunlop Dynacomp.
dynaross.mp3 Same pedal modified to DynaRoss.

Here is our standard reissue Dynacomp -> Ross modification ordering information.

Your dynacomp must be the new style (last 10 years or so) where the switch and jacks are mounted to the circuit board. The old MXR and VERY early Dunlop ones don't have enough room for all the mods to be added.

Price for the mod on your dynacomp is $85 plus $10 option for the painted case. True bypass on these pedals is a MAJOR pain to get right so we don't offer that any more. If you want true bypass, the COMPROSSOR is really the way to go.

New Ross mod Dynacomps (Dyna/ross) pre-converted are $165 including painted case, but not normally stocked as our COMPROSSOR is a much better pedal for just a little more money.

Please fill out and print out our MOD FORM and send it in with your dynacomp for the DYNA/ROSS modification.

Here are some Dyna/Ross reviews from Harmony-Central.

Here is a picture of our testing of the pedals and mods. I used a pedal switching board so I could switch back and forth between all the various compressors I was testing. Leftmost is a modified reissue dyna/ross, next is one of our 1st batch compROSSors, in the smaller MXR distortion+ sized box, then an original 70s Ross Compressor, and another Dyna/ross with different components. I also used a TS9 in the loop to recreate the sounds that many people are are trying to get. I tested with a strat and my '58 Les Paul Junior, into a blackface deluxe reverb and my 1969 100 Watt Marshall. They all sounded great!

SPECIAL VERSIONS:

How much stuff can you fit in one small pedal?

Here is the inside of a special BicompROSSor I made for Al Schnier of the band moe. - they are a great band from the Northeast and love to jam! Al's bicomp has 4 jacks - an input and output for each effect, so the JUICER and COMPROSSOR can be run through an effects switcher seperately, or with other effects in between them. It can still be used with only 2 jacks, like the Captain Coconut (thanks Kevin griffin from U-Melt, who also owns one, for the idea!) with automatic patching through both effects. We have now made quite a few of these so we can now offer them for a $75 additional charge. It does not really have room for a battery but one could be used in an emergency (wire hanging out the side) Al wrote me :

The Bicomp rules. I have the JUICER right after my wah & use that for some clean & OD compression. The ROSS is after my overdrives & distortions & is great for added sustain. Very satisfied. The Ross blows away my Dynacomp. Thank you very much. Our publicist & other guitarist may also be in touch w/ you soon to order their's. (Chuck has his own Bicomp now!)

On the left is a special bicomprossor I made for a famous guitarist who was "raised by chickens". You should hear this pedal ALL OVER the finally-released Guns and Roses album- Paul Tobias and Robin Finck (G N'R and Nine Inch Nails) have been using it almost every day since they got it, and now Robin has bought one for himself.

On the right is one of the 15 rare DOUBLE SCREENED bicomps. I wanted to do them in dark red, but the red was not very clear so we did them over in black, slightly offset for a cool shadowing effect! These have gone for over $300 on ebay.

Regards, mike ~^v^~ aNaLoG.MaN ~^v^~

http://www.analogman.com